Everyone here understands that we are fighting for our lives.

The ugliness, the venom and sheer, violent hatred you are seeing in Paris, London, Berlin, LA, Boston, Denver…. this is just the beginning.

Today they’re throwing bricks at synagogues and saying “Kill the Jews.” Tomorrow it will be someone else.

We Jews are the canaries in the coal mine for all of humanity. Today they are throwing bricks at synagogues and smashing chairs and saying “Kill the Jews.”

Tomorrow it will be someone else.

Do the French really think these people will protect and safeguard the treasures of the Louvre?

Do Londoners really think these people will cherish the symbols of the British Empire?

Does anyone really think this is only about Israel and the disputed territories?

Today it is Israel, tomorrow it will be you.

Maybe that is why everyone gets so disproportionately annoyed about this conflict. Because everyone knows after us it gets real personal…

Seeing these violent protests, hearing the sickening screams for death, we Israelis understand better than ever we must fight for every square inch and with all we have.

It matters not how much better our military is, how much more precise our targets can be.

It only matters that when the smoke clears Hamas is disarmed, destroyed, disabled and defeated. Forever.

Hamas. NOT the people of Gaza. I feel so very sorry for them. Sorry they were misguided and elected these lunatics. Sorry that in their desperation they allowed Hamas to fill the empty bedrooms next to their children’s room with rockets. Sorry that their leaders have mansions and swimming pools and are sitting in air conditioning in another city while they are sweating and wondering where the roof over their houses went. (If not their house itself.) Sorry that they have been brought up with no inkling of who Israelis are nor what compromise is.

Defeating Hamas will be a big problem for the power brokers because shame and honor are all that matter in this part of the world.

Honor in the Middle East does not come from whether your children are literate, how successful you are, how much money you make, how civilized your community is, nor how many paved roads you have, and whether or not you have garbage collection and recycling.

Here in this part of the world, for Hamas, honor comes from getting revenge.

For them revenge is everything.

For them revenge is the only thing.

Remember we left Gaza. There was no blockade. They were free to build a model democracy- the first successful shining, taste of the new, proud Palestine. But they didn’t want that kind of success…

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

We will not be fooled again.

We have nowhere else to go. And the rockets won’t stop.

The folks in the south cannot shower, go the bathroom, get more milk or walk a dog without wondering if they are taking their lives in their own hands.

There is another Gaza underneath Gaza.

Hamas could have built hundreds of schools, paved thousands of roads, build hundreds of kindergartens with the cement and iron they have used to build these underground bunkers and tunnels (and you wondered why Israel put a blockade on bringing building supplies into the Gaza strip?).

These tunnels to hell are filled with ammunition.

And no women or children, not a single elderly person is brought to safety there.

They want them on the street, on the roof, standing right behind, nice and close to the terrorist firing the rocket.

Hamas asked for a cease-fire.

And they broke it.

They break every single one.

Israel is setting up a massive field hospital to treat our enemies. There will be a working maternity ward, an operating theater…a working hospital. For… our enemies.

We have lost 53. And I am afraid we are going to lose more boys.

But everyone here understands that we are fighting for our lives.

They cannot compromise and they don’t want peace or to share or to negotiate. They want revenge even if it means killing their own people.

So we have to go in there and do things none of us want to do, but we have to.

So this is why we are all so sad.

Israelis want peace so badly.

But we also desperately want to live. We love life and we are not about to let anyone, let alone a bunch of deranged thugs, take it away from us.

Remember, if they win, you are next.

If we win those symbols of civilization that everyone takes so for granted will remain standing and everyone will criticize and complain about disproportionate responses and war crimes and all kinds of other irrelevant nonsense, but secretly I think everyone will be heaving a sigh of relief.

About the Author

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Visitor Comments: 16

(12)
Janice,
August 11, 2014 5:01 PM

Someday, when the European haters wake up to find themselves living under Islam, their laws and their lives (and their daughters' "chastity") controlled by Islamists, they will say, "Israel in 2014 was doing the work of the real world, the rational world, and we - we did not know."

Daniel Less,
August 12, 2014 5:25 PM

It's already happening.

Some people in Europe are already wakening up to the fact that they will most likely become minorities in their own countries one day. They just don't seem to know what to do about it, that's the really tragic thing about the whole situation.

(11)
Neicee,
August 2, 2014 8:13 PM

Heavy heart for Israel

I have prayed for all of you residing in Israel, yet keep alive in my heart the promise of G-d the Father that He'll always protect you. The U.S. has lost sight of the fear and anguish we all felt after 9/11. Europe has not felt that fear for 70 years. If it's OK I would like permission to e-mail this splendid article to every single person I know here in the U.S. that I know doesn't understand the ramifications of standing by and doing nothing but criticizing decisions made by Israeli's for Israeli's. Bless you all and stay well. Many thanks to the author. Well said.

(10)
Yehudith Shraga,
August 1, 2014 7:59 AM

Muammar Gaddafi on women's role in Muslim world and Muslim birth rate in Europe:

on Muslim birth rate in Europe:

We have 50 million Muslims in Europe. There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe—without swords, without guns, without conquest—will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.

Gaddafi's on women's "right":

Women must be trained to fight in houses, prepare explosive belts and blow themselves up alongside enemy soldiers. Anyone with a car must prepare it and know how to install explosives and turn it into a car-bomb. We must train women to place explosives in cars and blow them up in the midst of enemies, and blow up houses so that they can collapse on enemy soldiers. Traps must be prepared. You have seen how the enemy checks baggage: we must fix these suitcases in order for them to explode when they open them. Women must be taught to place mines in cupboards, bags, shoes, children's toys so that they explode on enemy soldiers.

(9)
diane flock,
August 1, 2014 3:35 AM

how do you fight the world

JEWS are being driven out of France. anti-semitism is rampant in Europe and the Middle East. i am afraid for my children and grandchildren.

Y Toner,
August 3, 2014 6:42 AM

Thanks to state of Israel, and their actions you should be afraid, if all the Jews would have expressed their protest to the actions of the Israeli government their would ave been less anti-semitism

Laine Frajberg,
August 4, 2014 11:53 PM

Your comment is stupid ,vile,and ill-informed

Your attempt to blame the Jews for the acts committed against then is stupid,vile,and ill-informed.It is similar to those who blame the European Jews for the acts of a certain Austrian carpet chewer.Now go away.

(8)
Anne,
August 1, 2014 12:21 AM

There are people all around the world praying for you and your beautiful land. Take heart; look to our G-d. So many more people understand than you may think. Blessings from Australia.

(7)
om,,
July 31, 2014 9:43 PM

very clear and frightening! i agree that the whole world is afraid of terrorists in their midst and while condemning Israel outwardly they are probably secretly hoping Israel will do the job for the whole world and put an end to as much terror as possible.

(6)
Anonymous,
July 31, 2014 9:03 PM

Where are the outcries

The French, the Scandinavians, Brits etc. who are standing by while their Moslem populations are rioting agains the Jews, should start paying attention to what is happening in Mosul. Not one Western country is protesting while local Christians are given a choise convert to Islam, leave immediately or die. These terrorist groups have only one aim reestablishing the Caliphate of hundreds of years ago only this time they won't be stpped at the gates of Vienna. We Jews are only the first. The danger is real but Europe is sleeping. Time to wake up.

As far as Gaza is concerned no one is asking why there are no bomb shelters. If the so called government used half the cement and would have stolen only a quarter of the foreign aid Gaza would have been a better place.

Also the hypocrites of the Media and foreign governments are not concerned with all the women an children in Syria. I guess it is OK if the killing is done by Arabs of Arabs.

David,
August 1, 2014 8:21 AM

Where are the bomb shelters for Gaza civilians?

"No one is asking why there are no bomb shelters. If the so called government used half the cement and would have stolen only a quarter of the foreign aid Gaza would have been a better place"

To be fair, this excellent point has not been lost even in the Arab media: http://www.arabnews.com/news/602511

(5)
Rivkah,
July 31, 2014 7:51 PM

Am Yisrael Chai!

(4)
Dvirah,
July 31, 2014 6:47 PM

Revenge...What For?

Everything that Andi Arnovitz says here is true but one thing is left out: that the "revenge" that Hamas seeks is not for any real damage done to them by Israel or Israelis, but only for the fact that, not being Moslems, Israel dares to exist and even prosper.

(3)
Patty Ann Smith,
July 31, 2014 6:39 PM

GWorld Peace

Yes, Israel is not only fighting for their own lives but the lives of everyone in this world. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem Psalm122 :6

(2)
Lyone,
July 31, 2014 6:14 PM

I wish everyone knew

I wish everyone knew that "after us it's all of you." Unfortunately, there are still so many Jews who don't even seem to understand this. Why do so many Jews argue in support of the Palestinians and against Israel? It is scary. Do they think that they will be spared, if Islamism becomes the law of the land?

The only thing I can imagine is that the whole thing just isn't real to such people. It is all academic and distant to them, and they believe that none of it will ever affect their lives. Meanwhile other give up money, security and life to protect such deluded thinkers.

(1)
smb,
July 31, 2014 9:22 AM

We need to keep up both the physical effort and spiritual effort so Hamas is defeated. Once we do that, there will be peace for everyone with G-d's help

I’m wondering what happened to the House of David. After the end of the Kingdom of Judah was there any memory what happened to King David’s descendants? Is there any family today which can trace its lineage to David – and whom the Messiah might descend from?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Thank you for your good question. There is no question that King David’s descendants are alive today. God promised David through Nathan the Prophet that the monarchy would never depart from his family (II Samuel 7:16). The prophets likewise foretell the ultimate coming of the Messiah, descendant of David, the “branch which will extend from the trunk of Jesse,” who will restore the Davidic dynasty and Israel’s sovereignty (Isaiah 11:1, see also Jeremiah 33:15, Ezekiel 37:25).

King David’s initial dynasty came to an end with the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian Exile. In an earlier expulsion King Jehoiachin was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, together with his family and several thousand of the Torah scholars and higher classes (II Kings 24:14-16). Eleven years later the Temple was destroyed. The final king of Judah, Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah, was too exiled to Babylonia. He was blinded and his children were executed (II Kings 25:7).

However, Jehoiachin and his descendants did survive in exile. Babylonian cuneiform records actually attest to Jehoiachin and his family receiving food rations from the government. I Chronicles 3:17:24 likewise lists several generations of his descendants (either 9 or 15 generations, depending on the precise interpretation of the verses), which would have extended well into the Second Temple era. (One was the notable Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, who was one of the leaders of the return to Zion and the construction the Second Temple.)

In Babylonia, the leader of the Jewish community was known as the Reish Galuta (Aramaic for “head of the exile,” called the Exilarch in English). This was a hereditary position recognized by the Babylonian government. Its bearer was generally quite wealthy and powerful, well-connected to the government and wielding much authority over Babylonian Jewry.

According to Jewish tradition, the Exilarch was a direct descendant of Jehoiachin. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 5a) understands Genesis 49:10 – Jacob’s blessing to Judah that “the staff would not be removed from Judah” – as a reference to the Exilarchs in Babylonia, “who would chastise Israel with the staff,” i.e., who exercised temporal authority over the Jewish community. It stands to reason that these descendants of Judah were descendants of David’s house, who would have naturally been the leaders of the Babylonian community, in fulfillment of God’s promise to David that authority would always rest in his descendants.

There is also a chronological work, Seder Olam Zutta (an anonymous text from the early Middle Ages), which lists 39 generations of Exilarchs beginning with Jehoiachin. One of the commentators to Chronicles, the Vilna Gaon, states that the first one was Elionai of I Chronicles 3:23.

The position of Exilarch lasted for many centuries. The Reish Galuta is mentioned quite often in the Talmud. As can be expected, some were quite learned themselves, some deferred to the rabbis for religious matters, while some, especially in the later years, fought them and their authority tooth and nail.

Exilarchs existed well into the Middle Ages, throughout the period of the early medieval scholars known as the Gaonim. The last ones known to history was Hezekiah, who was killed in 1040 by the Babylonian authorities, although he was believed to have had sons who escaped to Iberia. There are likewise later historical references to descendants of the Exilarchs, especially in northern Spain (Catelonia) and southern France (Provence).

Beyond that, there is no concrete evidence as to the whereabouts of King David’s descendants. Supposedly, the great French medieval sage Rashi (R. Shlomo Yitzchaki) traced his lineage to King David, although on a maternal line. (In addition, Rashi himself had only daughters.) The same is said of Rabbi Yehuda Loewe of Prague (the Maharal). Since Ashkenazi Jews are so interrelated, this is a tradition, however dubious today, shared by many Ashkenazi Jews.

In any event, we do not need be concerned today how the Messiah son of David will be identified. He will be a prophet, second only to Moses. God Himself will select him and appoint him to his task. And he himself, with his Divine inspiration, will resolve all other matters of Jewish lineage (Maimonides Hilchot Melachim 12:3).

Yahrtzeit of Kalonymus Z. Wissotzky, a famous Russian Jewish philanthropist who died in 1904. Wissotzky once owned the tea concession for the Czar's entire military operation. Since the Czar's soldiers numbered in the millions and tea drinking was a daily Russian custom, this concession made Wissotzky very rich. One day, Wissotzky was approached by the World Zionist Organization to begin a tea business in Israel. He laughed at this preposterous idea: the market was small, the Turkish bureaucracy was strict, and tea leaves from India were too costly to import. Jewish leaders persisted, and Wissotzky started a small tea company in Israel. After his death, the tea company passed to his heirs. Then in 1917, the communists swept to power in Russia, seizing all of the Wissotzky company's assets. The only business left in their possession was the small tea company in Israel. The family fled Russia, built the Israeli business, and today Wissotzky is a leading brand of tea in Israel, with exports to countries worldwide -- including Russia.

Building by youth may be destructive, while when elders dismantle, it is constructive (Nedarim 40a).

It seems paradoxical, but it is true. We make the most important decisions of our lives when we are young and inexperienced, and our maximum wisdom comes at an age when our lives are essentially behind us, and no decisions of great moment remain to be made.

While the solution to this mystery eludes us, the facts are evident, and we would be wise to adapt to them. When we are young and inexperienced, we can ask our elders for their opinion and then benefit from their wisdom. When their advice does not coincide with what we think is best, we would do ourselves a great service if we deferred to their counsel.

It may not be popular to champion this concept. Although we have emerged from the era of the `60s, when accepting the opinion of anyone over thirty was anathema, the attitude of dismissing older people as antiquated and obsolete has-beens who lack the omniscience of computerized intelligence still lingers on.

Those who refuse to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. We would do well to swallow our youthful pride and benefit from the teachings of the school of experience.

Today I shall...

seek advice from my elders and give more serious consideration to deferring to their advice when it conflicts with my desires.

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